Research
My research examines how technological and institutional systems reshape human agency, autonomy, work and responsibility. I am particularly interested in AI not simply as a technological development, but as a social and philosophical force capable of altering how people understand their work, exercise judgement and relate to institutions.
My work draws particularly on philosophy of technology, AI ethics, Marxian theories of alienation, political philosophy and applied ethics. Across education, labour, healthcare and governance, I am interested in one recurring question:
Under what conditions does technology expand human agency, and under what conditions does it diminish it?
“The question is not whether machines can think, but what happens to us when they do.”
Dr. Ahmet Küçükuncular
AI, Labour and Alienation
A central strand of my research examines AI through theories of labour and alienation, particularly the Marxian tradition.
My doctoral research, Beyond the Blackboard: Investigating Teacher Alienation in the Age of AI, explored how the introduction of AI into education may change teachers' relationships with their work, professional autonomy and the products and processes of teaching.
More broadly, I am interested in whether technologies presented as tools of liberation and efficiency can instead intensify forms of alienation by separating individuals from meaningful control over their work. This research extends beyond education to questions surrounding automation, algorithmic management and the changing organisation of labour.
Philosophy and Ethics of AI
Another area of my research concerns the philosophical and ethical questions raised by increasingly autonomous artificial systems.
Rather than treating AI ethics primarily as a matter of technical safety or compliance, I examine questions concerning moral agency, responsibility, autonomy, power and the changing relationship between humans and intelligent technologies.
I am particularly interested in the conceptual assumptions underlying debates about AI:
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What kind of agency can reasonably be attributed to an artificial system?
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When does automation alter rather than merely assist human judgement?
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What responsibilities remain uniquely human when decisions are increasingly mediated by technological systems?
Autonomy, Judgement and Institutional Decision Making
A further strand of my work examines how institutions make consequential decisions and how evidence, algorithms and formal decision making frameworks interact with human judgement.
My work in healthcare ethics and health technology assessment has led me to examine the limits of purely procedural or quantitative approaches to ethical decision making. This connects closely with my broader interest in AI as both raise questions about when judgement can legitimately be formalised, and when human deliberation remains indispensable.
I am particularly interested in situations where efficiency, evidence and optimisation come into tension with autonomy, fairness and moral judgement.